Twin souls
by NightHunter23
Summary: "You might not want to do that." Wait, WHAT! "Heh… it seems-" I've got a voice stuck in my head. Great, just great. A story of misplaced vengeance, and the adventure that follows, including two rather pushy girls. First story so please go easy. ( CH4 update)
1. Wait, do I know him?

**1. Wait, Do I know Him?**

A girl sat by the widow in the corner of class. She was average and she had long white hair that came to the middle of her back, which was complimented by the black blouse and skinny jeans she was wearing. Looking out the window, she was dreaming of finally getting her hunting license, adventuring around Minegarde in search of fame and fortune. Sadly, she was only in her second year of the hunting academy. She was still learning but she was confident in her abilities.

Her friend let out a loud yawn next to her, pulling her out of her daydream. She had purple hair that went all the way to her waist with matching color eyes. She wore armor, a set of Jaggie pieces, instead of civies, like her friend."Jeez," The white haired Huntress said in an annoyed voice, "I think you broke your record Macie. That was a little over 10 seconds." Macie gave the girl a smirk as she leaned back in her chair.

"Yeah, top that, Rika. Bet you can't."

The girl in question let out a little sigh. "I told you to be quieter when you yawn. You know how many times you've gotten in trouble for interrupting class. I mean jeez!" She exclaimed, annoyed. In actual, Rika was more annoyed that Macie had interrupted her daydream.

Her friend smirked again. She knew why her occasional hunting partner was irritable. "You were fantasizing again, weren't you?"

"What? No!"

"You are a terrible liar, Rika," the young huntress laughed. "Anyway, what was it this time? Was it a glorious hunt, where you come to save the day?" The girl in question frowned. Macie was really starting to get on Rika's nerves.

"No, it was not entirely that," Rika mumbled. She was not one to discuss her fantasies with her annoying friend, "why do you care?"

Macie got a mischievous grin on her face, "Oh? Well then what was it about? Tell me!" she exclaimed as she started to tickle Rika. No one paid them any mind. It was a usual exchange between the two friends. The only ones annoyed by it were all the boys wanting to ask Rika out AGAIN, hoping that unlike every other day that she would say yes. It was hard being popular and having a great body and pretty face.

Macie began to pick up the pace with her tickling. She ran her wiggling fingers up and down Rika's stomach and to her armpits, the most ticklish spot on her body.

"Okay, okay, STOP! I'll tell you," the girl managed to get out between her laughs.

Macie stopped tickling her and leaned back in her seat again. "Ok, if it's not about be a valiant huntress, then what could it be about?" she questioned. "Oh I know now," getting another mischievous grin. "It was about a guy wasn't it?"

As she looked at Rika, she could see the blush starting to form on her friend's face.

"OH MY GOD IT IS! WHO? TELL ME WHO!" the huntress yelled at Rika. Said girl cringed back at the volume of the girl's voice. She could feel the red crawling onto her cheeks. The sudden stares were not helping either.

Just then, a boy walked in. He was tall, average build, and hade dark brown hair. The thing that was most noticing about him was his pale grey eyes, opposed to the normal brown or green of the area that the students lived in, while Rika had yellow-orangey eyes. He was also the top hunter in the class. Though everyone thought it was bullshit because he always messed up on training exercises. Everyone failed to notice that he was beat up before these exercises.

Everyone was silent as he stood in the doorway, his path blocked by two boys. They were glaring at him while he stood there and just stared blankly back at them. You could feel the tension in the two guys as they squared off with the new arrival. _Why does this guy never talk? Why doesn't he tell them to get out of the way or walk by them? Because it will start a fight? Rika thought to herself. _Even being in the same class, she never learned his name. And she never got a chance to approach and ask him. She didn't know why but she just wanted to know his name.

The tension only broke when the teacher arrived and told them to go to their seats. As they took their seats, it ended up with the mystery guy sitting behind her today. A lot of the guys in class were throwing him dirty looks and glares, because he was lucky to sit so close to Rika.

As the teacher started class and told them to partner up. Today they were going to quiz their partner on monster biology. Almost instantly, half the boys were asking here if she wanted to partner with them, while Macie held the other half back. She noticed the only guy not trying to partner with her was the mystery boy. This only made her determined.

"S-sorry guys," she stammered, "I already have a partner."

"Yeah, and who would that be?" a random guy asked.

"With this guy," she stated as she grabbed the arm of the boy behind her, making said hunter look up from his book in surprise.

Every boy instantly glared and silently spat venom at him. They were NOT happy that the most popular girl in class was partnering with him. Their body language and obvious looks of dislike towards him made it obvious. The look on said boys face went from surprise to 'why me'. He did not like attention

"Ok everyone, break it up," the teacher ordered. Disappointed, the boys went to find other partners. A couple of the other girls looked rather annoyed that all the boys went to her without even considering them. They were mad at the boys, not her. No one could ever seem to get or stay mad at her.

"So, what's your name?" she asked simply. He just sat there and gave her a confused look. "Uh…"

He then removed his wrist from her grasp. She didn't even realize that she was still holding his arm. He then seemed to give her his almost-full attention.

"Uh, I was wondering if you could tell me your name. I'm Rika, your-"

"I know."

_Whoa,_ she thought, having heard his voice for the first time in the 2 years they had been class mates. "I-I was wondering if you could tell me your name."

He sat there and looked as if he was deciding to tell her or not. Eventually he made up his mind. "Kodah."

"Oh. Nice to meet you, Kodah."

He just gave a tiny nod in response. Then he opened his monster notes back up and looked at Rika to do the same.

"Oh yeah, give me a sec." her white hair saying slightly as she bent down to reach into her blademasters pouch. He sat there patiently as she searched for her own monster notes, fixing the sloppy parts. When she resurfaced, they traded notes. When she saw his notes, she gasped. Almost instantly 5 boys had rushed to her, two of them pinning Kodah against the wall. They looked like they were itching to beat him up. The other 3 boys were asking her if she was okay and if he had done something to her. But she was more worried about poor guy pinned against the wall.

"Why'd you have to pin him against the wall?!" she exclaimed as she tried to pry the 2 guys off of Kodah. "He didn't do anything."

"That's bullshit. He did something," the hunter behind her said.

"No he didn't," Macie agreed with Rika as she walked up to the group, "it looks like you just want to beat him up." Rika was glad she had a friend like her, always reasonable and ready to rush in to defend people. Kodah just sat there pinned, as he watched the argument happening.

"Come on Rika, just ditch this guy and go on a date with me," the boy in front of her said smoothly. He winked at the end of the sentence.

"Ew, no, you perverted creep."

The boy instantly had an angry look on his face as he stepped forward to slap her.

Then, everything happened so fast, if you blinked, you'd have missed it. The two guys pinning Kodah to the wall were on the ground and he was standing between Rika and the boy, having caught his hand in midair. The look in the boy's eyes was furious and Kodah's were blank and unemotional. "No need to resort to violence," Kodah stated calmly.

Rika then realized that this was familiar. _Do I know this guy?_

**Sorry, this one was a little dialogue heavy. The next chapter won't be. Anyway thank you for reading. Please leave a review. And go easy this is my first story. See ya next time. **


	2. Fistfight

**2. Fist Fight**

**My friend got my account pass so there might be some reviews done under my account name. Yeah, he's a jackass. Ignore him please.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Monster hunter.**

Rika could see where this was going, and she didn't like it.

Kodah stood there with the guy's wrist in his hand, just staring at him blankly. "No need to resort to violence." That was all he needed to say. By the look on the other hunter's face, someone was going to get a beating, and she was worried that it was going to be Kodah on the receiving end.

This scene look familiar. It was many years ago, and the situation was almost the same. But it was different guys. At least she thought so. _Oh well, _she thought,_ I'll just forget about It for now. Besides, there are bigger things to deal with right now._

By now everybody in class surrounded the two hunters. The look on the students differed by gender. Most girls looked worried that someone was going to get hurt, while the boys looked rather happy that Kodah was going to get beat up. "Punch him Blake!" a boy in the crowd shouted. What happened next, they did not expect.

The boy now known as Blake swung his free fist at Kodah's head. No one expected him to dodge it and counter with a quick shove. Blake turned around so Rika could see his face, and he looked mad. He charged at Kodah, aiming a punch. He dodged it again and tripped his opponent as he went by. Blake was unable to catch himself and fell on his face. Two other boys took this as their queue to enter the fight, standing in front of the hunter. He just looked at them with the same blank, pale grey eyes.

This seemed to infuriate the two boys, as they charged one after another at him. He just side-stepped the first one and flipped the other boy over his back. Everyone was silent as they looked at the hunter. They were wondering how he could have beat three guys just as big as him even though he sucked at hunting. Just then, a fourth boy smashed the flat side of his greatsword over Kodah's head from behind.

Rika gasped as she heard the impact and watched horrified as Kodah crumpled to the ground. The one wielding the greatsword was smirking at the form of the hunter on the ground. Macie had a frown on her face as she looked on.

"That was a low blow. Not entirely fair, don't you think?" the huntress questioned, "Or were you afraid that you'd lose when facing him head on?" The look of triumph on the boy's face faltered at Macie's words.

"W-what? N-no, of course I could beat him head on!" the boy stammered out.

Just then, Kodah kicked the boy's legs out from under him. Before the boy even hit the ground, Kodah was up and had his knees on the other boy's chest, pinning him. He kneeled on top of the other hunter, keeping him from moving and fighting back.

Just then, the teacher came back into the room. "Someone tell me what the hell is going on in here," the man demanded. He then caught sight of the two hunters on the ground, and let out a sigh. "Please get off your classmate, and everyone, just go back to what you were doing before."

As the students dispersed, the grey eyed hunter got off and went back to his seat and Rika followed silently.

'_Why was I worried? He can obviously handle himself in a fight. But where did he learn, and how come he doesn't just put those moves into his hunting strategy?' _she thought. _And it looked like Macie knows something about him. Oh well, I'll worry about it later._

"So what was the gasp for earlier," the boy across from her asked.

"Oh. It was because of your monster notes. They are so detailed and there are monsters in there that I've never even heard of before."

Kodah gave her what could be considered a look of surprise, though all that it was that his eyes widened only slightly. "You've never heard of those monsters?"

"No, why? Should I have?"

The boy leaned back and sighed, "Well you're in for a rude awakening," the teen said as he handed her his monster notes again, "go ahead and study them for a while, I already know everything."

Wow. That was the longest sentence she heard him say. And it didn't look like he was going to say anything more for a while. She gave a small shrug and opened his monster notes to the first page. She looked on in amazement at the entry list in his notes. It was divided into sections by threat level, starting at one and ending at six. She decided to start with the first monster she hadn't heard of which was the Wroggi.

'_Ok, is like Jaggi and Baggi as they travel in packs. They kill their prey with claws and a poison they produce in a gland in their mouth and throats. They have a two star threat level. Led by an alpha male. I can guess what it's called.' _And sure enough, there it was. The Great Wroggi with a three star threat level. '_It says that they live in the Flooded Forest and Volcano, and considering we've hardly gotten into large monsters besides those found on the deserted island and underwater areas of the flooded forest, it's no wonder why I haven't heard of them before.'_

She proceeded to read through his thorough notes, hardly making It a quarter of the way through when the bell rang, signaling the end of the last class of the day. _'Oh yeah, it's Friday. Weekend here I come_,' the young girl thought excitedly, _'No academy tomorrow.'_ The academy students had Saturday and Sunday off, but the school offered low difficulty large monster contracts and everything below them on Sundays. Rika was planning to come in then.

She handed Kodah his notes back, "Thanks for letting me read them. They were very informative." The boy just nodded in affirmation and took his notes from her hands. He proceeded to put them back in his pack as Rika just stood there looking for something to say. Then she had an idea. "Are you planning on coming in for the Sunday hunt?" Kodah looked up at her then back down at his pack. He nodded and said he was.

"Cool. I'll see you Sunday then." She then got up and walked over to Macie who was standing by the door waiting for her. She looked rather impatient.

"Jeez, took you long enough. So what did you learn about our resident ass-kicker?"

Rika laughed at the last bit. "Nothing much other than his name is Kodah and that he has extensive knowledge of monsters I've never heard of."

"Oh yeah, like what?"

"Ever heard of subspecies?"

"No."

"Well apparently there are 2 subspecies of the Rathian, which is what we are now studying and there has been no mention of subspecies."

Her friend thought for a minute and concluded that they were probably going to study them later in the year or next year. "I wonder how he knows about them. Oh well, anything else?"

Rika wracked her brain. "Oh, he's coming to the Sunday hunt this weekend." Rika turned around to see that most of the others had left. The only people that were left in the room were herself, Macie, Kodah and five others, not one of them the teacher. Kodah got up made his way to the door and was about to exit when Rika saw him shoved back into the room. Then she saw six boys enter with that boy from earlier, Blake, in the lead looking to settle unfinished business.

"Oh no boys," Macie walked towards them, "no more fighting."

"Shut up and stay out of this," Blake snapped. Kodah just stared at them blankly. He then tried to go around them only to be shoved back again. "No you don't you little punk," Blake growled threateningly, "You owe us an apology."

Macie butted in, saying, "No he doesn't. If you weren't acting like an-"

"Stop," Kodah cut her off, "If they want a fight so badly, I'll give them what they want." He then set his pack on the table beside him. Blake gestured to give them room. Macie just stood there, looking between the two boys, until she shook her head exasperatedly. "You are an idiot, Blake. I was trying to protect YOU, not him. Hope you have a good time getting your ass kicked, guys." She then walked back to Rika who stood there looking between the group and Kodah, who looked unworried and blank of expression. Then out of nowhere, Blake threw a savage right hook. Rika waited for the thud of skin on skin but it never came. Instead Kodah had caught the punch, and was standing there. Then he punched Blake with a well-aimed jab to his solar plexus, winding the other boy. Two more boys charged forward aiming punches and kickes. Kodah managed to dodge all but three, which were just light blows compared to the rest they had swung at him.

Kodah pushed a fist aside and came in with a hard uppercut to one of the boys chins, while the other managed to kick Kodah in the shin. All he did was wince slightly from it while most would fall to one knee. He then aimed several punches to the hunter's mid-section then tripping him and kicking him in the gut, putting out of the fight for a little while. The other three boys ran at him, throwing punches and kicks which he dodged and blocked. As one boy managed to trip him, he fell on his back as one of the three charged for a superman punch. Just when the guy reached him, he grabbed the guy's arm, shoved his foot into his gut and propelled him 10 feet into the wall. Every boy had gotten up except for the one he just launched and were surrounding him. They stood there facing off with Kodah, utile they all at him at once.

Realizing that he couldn't face them all at once, he took two out with quick kicks while the rest of them descended upon him. In a flurry of punches, the six boys backed off. Kodah had multiple cuts on his face and quite a few bruises on his arms and legs. The other six looked just as beat.

"I think- huff-you've- huff- had enough- huff- of a beating," Blake managed to get out between breaths. Kodah didn't even look winded, "Don't make me mad again." He then walked off with the other boys in tow.

Macie look irritated. "Why does he try to act tough and cool? I me, ugh, he just got his and five others beaten up while this guy isn't even breathing hard. Speaking of which, are you okay?" she called out to Kodah. He nodded. He went to his bag and opened it, pulling out some glass jars. As he drank one of them, his bruises started to fad and his cuts stopped bleeping. _'Whoa, what was that?' _Rika thought,_ 'All his injuries just disappeared.' _He then walked to the door as if nothing happened; stopping only to turn around and say, "See you Sunday."

**Ok, how'd I do this time? Please R&R, I would like your thoughts on this story. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll cya next time.**


	3. Sunday Hunting

**3. Sunday Hunt**

**Ok, so chapter 3. I hope you enjoy it as it took me a while to write it. Laziness contributed to that. Anyway I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Monster Hunter **

Rika and Macie were walking along the street, the flow of people moving around them as they discussed their plans for their two days of freedom. "We know that we're going Sunday so what are we going to do Saturday?" Macie questioned. "I don't know," Rika shrugged. "But I want to be able to get my armor checked before Sunday."

"Yeah, same here." Macie let out a yawn and stretched her arms as they continued towards their homes. "I could do with a nap right now." Rika let out a sigh. "You could always use a nap, Macie. Try sleeping more at night rather than in class."

"Hey, I can't help the fact that I'm always tired." Rika let out another sigh as the continued to walk. "Anyway, what WERE you daydreaming about in class back there?" Macie just didn't drop things that she knew would embarrass her, and it was quite annoying. "Nothing," Rika said, trying to stop the conversation before it began.

"Nothing, huh?" Macie had another mischievous grin on her face. "I could just force it out of you." Macie then wiggled her fingers in a rather threatening manner. "Ok fine just don't tickle me anymore!" Rika exclaimed. They took a right onto a less crowded street. "Ok, so you know how my parents died right?" "Mhm." Macie knew the story of how Rika's parents died. Not many knew it because Rika didn't like to tell it very often, and only to friends. "Well, I was thinking about the boy who saved me. I was wondering what it would be like if I met him again." It had been six years since she had seen that boy, standing over his dead master. Yet he put aside his pain to comfort her in that hour of sadness, and she wanted to thank him for it. But it was problematic to find a person when you didn't know their face, or even their name for that matter.

"So you were fantasizing about this guy," Macie wiggled her eyebrows, implying something that made her friend blush at the thought. "NO I don't mean it in that way!" Rika's face was a bright shade of pink, which caused Macie to laugh her head off, drawing quite a few stares to the two best friends. Noticing this, Rika blushed two shades darker. This made Macie laugh even harder. She managed to calm down to a fit of giggles rather than her loud laughter. "Oh man," she managed to get out between giggles, "you should have seen your face!" The girl couldn't hold it and erupted into laughter again. Rika just stared forward, refusing to look at her friend.

Just then a guy walked out of the blacksmith's shop. He was wearing a hood and carrying a large weapon, but it was covered so she couldn't tell what it was. The mysterious guy turned and said yelled back into that blacksmith's shop, but with the distance and Macie's laughter Rika couldn't tell what was said. The guy then turned around and was starting to run off. That is, until he tripped over a felyne, knocking the hood off his head and uncovering the weapon slightly. When the guy got up, Rika saw his face. It was Kodah! _'What is Kodah doing running out of the blacksmith's shop?' _She then noticed the thing on the ground. It was only partially uncovered so all she could see was a bit of blue scales. Kodah seemed to notice that it was showing and covered… whatever it was back up.

"Hey look its Kodah." Macie just noticed the boy down the street. "HEY KODAH," the purple haired huntress shouted, "WHAT YA GOT THERE?" Kodah whipped around towards the voices, and upon seeing who it was, gave them a small wave, looking like he didn't know what to do in this situation. He just opted to turn around and walk away. "That's cold," Macie remarked with a frown. "Well you did embarrass the crap out of him by calling all that attention to him." "Ah come on it can't be that bad." Rika sighed. "Not everyone wants attention like you, ya know."

"Like you got much room to talk beauty queen." Rika rolled her eyes at this comment and flipped her white hair over her shoulder in a very exaggerated move. "Whatever," she said in the most stuck up voice she could muster. Her friend laughed at her actions. "Well my house is just up there. See you Saturday maybe, Sunday for sure." "Yeah, for sure."

* * *

Rika sat there, staring out the window. It was 11:00pm on a Friday; she should be out and about but she just stayed home. She felt like she was waiting for something, but she didn't know what. She just stared out at the street and glanced at the stars occasionally. At least six boys had come to her house, asking if she wanted to go out with them but she turned each of them down, saying she wasn't feeling well. Two of them had tried to get in and check on her but she told them she'd be fine and they left with dejected looks on their faces. She debated on calling Macie and seeing if she wanted to come over but decided against it. She just wanted to see what her gut was telling her to wait for. She looked up again at the sky, wondering about the day's events. The day was uneventful until lunch. Macie had slapped her other friend in the face with a pizza, starting a food fight which ended before it could really begin. The project due that was due in smithing class that day. And finally, Kodah beating up that boy, Blake, with the other boys wanting to get back at him for it. And how grey Kodah's eyes were. And How tall he was, and… _'Wait a sec, why can't I get him out of my head!? And what was he doing outside the blacksmiths shop?' _Rika knew it was her fault the other guys wanted to beat Kodah up. She should apologize for it, but that would sound a little weird. _'Oh well, just focus on what's outside.' _

As she looked back down at the street, she noticed another boy standing outside her window. He looked like a fourth year at the academy, Ian if she wasn't mistaken. He was the most popular guy in school, a person everyone liked. He was dressed in an armor she didn't recognize, probably made out of parts from a powerful monster. They looked at each other for a minuet until he broke the silence. "Nice night huh." Rika nodded, "Yeah, it's nice for being in the middle of summer."

"Yeah," he chuckled, "I thought it was going to be humid like all the other nights, but it's kinda nice right now." Most nights had been hot, humid or dry, but tonight seemed just right. "What'er you doing here, if you don't mind me asking?" Rika questioned politely.

"Well I wanted to see if you wanted to go hunting." She looked down at him in surprise. Why would he ask someone like her to go hunting? She was just a second year, the biggest thing she had killed so far was a Gobul and the largest monster she knew about was a Rathian. "Oh, thank you for the offer but I just want to stay home. I don't feel too well. Besides, I wouldn't be much use, I'm still a rookie."

"All right, I could just come in then…"

Rika felt something was wrong. She did not want to let him in, she at least from her gut feeling. "Sorry, just not tonight. Maybe some other time." "But…" Rika was starting to get irritated. "I'm sorry, but I just want to rest now." The fourth year looked ready to force entry to her home but he noticed someone walking in the torchlight so he seemed to decide against it. "Ok then. See you later." Ian did not sound happy and walked away at a fast pace. Rika then looked for the person that just saved her from fighting off and intruder. When she finally saw the person, she noticed the large thing on their back. It looked like the thing Kodah had earlier that day. Now that she noticed, this person was also wearing the same dark grey hooded jacket. In her gut she knew this is what she was waiting for. She changed into some darker cloths and slipped on her shoes.

She followed who she thought to be Kodah down the street for about a mile until he turned onto small dirt path leading into the woods. As Rika rounded the corner to follow him, she noticed that he'd started to run. She tried to do the same while maintaining the same silence as he, but she wasn't doing too well. She stepped on a few twigs that snapped under her weight but the guy seemed so focused on getting to his destination that he hadn't heard her.

About three miles into the woods, he seemed to slow down. As he did he pulled his hood off. She could see a mop of brown reaching halfway down the person's neck. Then they turned around slightly to look behind them. Rika darted behind a tree so that she wouldn't be seen. When the person did this she could see one pale grey eye that seemed to glow in the light of the stars shining down on the uncovered path. Yep, it was definitely Kodah. He turned the rest of the way around and scanned the way he had just come. She pulled her head back so that she could just see around the tree while maintaining her hiding spot. As he scanned the path his eyes lingered on her hiding spot a second longer than everywhere else. He just shrugged and turned back around, and started running really fast down the path, faster than she could keep up.

She eventually gave up and started to walk back. When she made it a half a mile down the road, she heard a distant roar. She whipped around in time to see a small blue flash come from about two miles down the path. The sight and sound frightened her so she started to sprint as fast as she could towards her house. When she got back, she closed the open window and changed into a night gown. Rika got into her bed and tried to sleep, failing miserably.

* * *

Kodah walked down the path, a slight limp in his step, clutching his arm. He started to walk back towards his house, wondering how the thing had gotten the drop on him. It had come from under the ground but he should have still sensed it. _'Damn, next time I need to pay attention more. Why can't I stop thinking about who was following me?' _He let out a grunt of pain when he tripped on a rock in the dirt street. He was going to feel this in the morning. He took out another mega potion form his pouch and drank it. The bleeding stopped and some of his bones stopped aching but he was going to need to go to the hospital tomorrow. Potions could only do so much. _'Hope no one sees me.'_ "Oh my God, Kodah! Are you ok?!" _'Shit.'_

* * *

Rika was looking out her window again. "What was he doing going into the woods?" she wondered aloud. She kept looking out for him, trying to see if he was ok. That roar in the woods was like nothing she had ever heard before. It had scared her. It sounded so angry and hungry. That is not the kind of monster you want to deal with anytime let alone in the dark, though the moon and stars did a good job of lighting up the night. And it was by this light that she saw Kodah limping slightly and clutching his arm as he tripped. "Oh my God, Kodah! Are you ok?!" That was a stupid question. Even from here she could see the blood. "Hold on I'll be right down!" She slipped on a pair of slippers and ran out to him. "You look terrible. Is that blood?! Oh my God what happened to you?!" the girl exclaimed. "There's blood all over you! Where are you hurt?"

Kodah sighed. "I'm fine," he said Blankley, keeping his voice level as to not give away his injury any further, "Don't worry about me." "No you're not. Come inside. Here let me help you." She reached to pull his arm but he didn't seem to want to cooperate. "Please, just let me help you," she pleaded. Then she got an idea; she pulled out the puppy eyes.

Kodah looked at her then shook his head. "No no no no, don't give me those eyes." He said quickly. He was portraying an emotion right now, and it was annoyance. She decided to layer it on thick. "Don't give me puppy eyes." "Pleeeeease, let me help you," Rika kept putting layers of cuteness into her eyes, "Pleeease."

"Damn it," Kodah sighed, "fine." She helped him up and put his arm around her shoulder to support his weight. She blushed at his touch as she helped him towards the door. "Thank you," he told her as she helped him sit in a chair. Rika blushed even deeper at his thanks. "No problem she replied. "Now where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere," He replied. "Everywhere hurts."

Rika rubbed her forehead as she thought of what to do. "Ok," she stated, I need to see how bad it is under that jacket. Take off your shirt and jacket please." He did as he was told. The first thing she noticed was the bruises. Then she noticed something else. This guy looked skinny underneath that jacket, but when he took it off plus his shirt, he was _lean. _His muscles were defined enough to see that he hunted a lot. No wonder he could kick the crap out of Blake; he had very lean muscles that were hard to see under his jacket. She blushed when he noticed her staring. He just sighed and sat back. "Can you please hurry up I need to get home." He seemed calm considering something had beaten him up. At least, he sounded calm. His body said otherwise. His muscles were tensed, ready to fight or run at a moment's notice. She grabbed some bandages for the cuts and cool drinks to put on his bruises. "You got a nice place," he remarked, "Doesn't look cheap."

"My Grandma sends me money every month to support myself. That, with the money we get from the hunting academy, I was able to afford this place and still had some money left for food and supplies." She grabbed the bandage and had him stand up. "Ok stay there for a moment please." She wrapped the bandage around his stomach and had him sit back down, giving him the cool drink. "Put that against your bruises. They should go down after a few minutes with it on there. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get something for your arm and leg." He sat back in the chair, waiting patiently for her to get back. After she had finished patching him up, he put his shirt and jacket back on. He grabbed his weapon which was covered as usual and walked towards the door. " Thank you for helping me," he said. "It's no problem," Rika replied. "I'll always help a fellow hunter. Anyway what happened to you?" He looked away, "I don't want to answer that right now." "Fine." He looked back at her in surprise. What? People could have their secrets. It was fine by her, but she wanted to know eventually.

"I'll be going then. Thanks again." Rika was feeling conflicting emotions right then. Before he walked out the door, she turned him around and gave him a tight hug. To say he was surprised would be an understatement. He let out a surprised yelp as she whipped him around, wincing "Ow." "Sorry," Rika said as she let go. "Don't go getting yourself hurt like that again," she told him. _'Oh my god, why the hell did I just do that? He probably thinks I'm weird now'. _Kodah nodded in reply to what she said, and walked out the door, closing it behind him, and walked down the street. _'That girl is weird,' _Kodah thought to himself as he walked down the street.

* * *

Rika woke up Sunday feeling tired. She didn't get much sleep Friday, and Saturday went by in a blur, not giving her much time to rest if she wanted to be prepared for the hunt. She had gotten up from her bed at six to get ready as it took her a good thirty minutes to get ready and she had to walk for another twenty to reach the academy. She put on her armor, which she had been told was made from a Barioth, a fearsome beast residing in the tundra. The blacksmith said a hunter came in with some materials and sold them to him cheap, so he made it into a set of armor for the first person who asked for some; and that had been Rika. She then picked up her Ananta Boneblade and strapped the sheath to her armor.

She walked out the door and took a deep breath. Nothing like a good walk to wake you up. She made it about halfway the academy when Macie started to walk beside her. "Ready?" the purple haired huntress asked, decked out in Jaggi armor with a pair of dual Ludroth swords on her back. "Mhm. I wonder what's gonna be available today?" "Dunno, but look out; here comes the paparazzi." And sure enough, three boys were approaching them, no doubt wanting to ask the two girls to hunt with them.

Rika felt a sudden hand on her shoulder, pulling her into an ally. When she got a look at who grabbed her she saw it was Macie trying to conceal her from the boys.

"Where'd she go?"

"I don't know, why are you asking me?"

"You saw her too."

"She was here a second ago."

Frustrated, the boys continued to look for her further down the street. She listened to their voices which slowly faded in the distance. Letting out a relieved sigh, Macie pulled her back on the street. "You have to be better at running and hiding from boys, Rika."

"I could just turn them down."

"Has that stopped them yet?"

Rika sighed. "Yeah, you're right. But one of these times I'm going to have to say yes." "I know. I'm just trying to keep you free for the right guy. None of them seem to fit your personality." Macie was right. None of the boys fit her well. They were nice, persistent, strong, but every one of them had something that she just didn't like in the slightest. A lot of them were _too _persistent, and others just saw her as a pretty face, as Ian had that night he was outside her window. She just couldn't find the right guy. "One of them will eventually," she replied to her friend as they entered the building and walked to their homeroom to select a partner and quest.

There were about 23 people in the room. Most looked partnered up already. As expected, the boys who hadn't partnered up yet ran up to her immediately.

"Hey, you wanna hunt with me?"

"No way loser, she's hunting with me."

"Back off, she wants to join me. Right Rika?"

The jumbled mix of requests and protests were cut off when she let out a yell. "HEY!" All the boys stopped bickering at once, giving her their immediate attention. "I'm flattered by your offers but I'm going to partner up with my friends." The boys all let out consecutive groans of disappointment and dispersed about the room. She walked over to Macie and sat in the desk next to her. "Now that that's sorted out, who do you want to partner with?" Macie scanned the room looking for other people. She stopped when her eyes reached to door, as someone had just walked in. Lots of people turned around and stared. Who just walked in was none other than Kodah. No one had ever seen him on Sunday hunts and they were surprised to see him now.

He walked in only wearing jeans and a jacket, the only armor he had on was a pair of leather bracers on his forearms. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy and had to be joking. He was carrying the same weapon as Friday though it was still covered so no one could see it. "Hey Kodah," Macie called across the room, "You want to join our group?" Kodah looked their way and seemed to contemplate whether to accept or not, but in the end he walked over to them and stood in front of them. Many boys were shooting him glares but he ignored them.

"So where's your armor?" Macie questioned him. No sensible hunter went out on a hunt without his or her armor. "The biggest thing up there is a Querepeco and I'd rather no one saw my armor. It'd raise too many questions," he said, loud enough only for the two girls to hear him.

"Come on, don't be stupid. We won't ask any questions if you wear your armor." He still didn't look like he wanted to show them what he had, but then Rika put on her puppy eyes. One look and he started to crack. "Fine," he muttered, "Grab the contract for the Peco and I'll go get my armor from my chest." With that he stood up and exited the classroom. "Well then," Macie got up, "Let's get that contract signed. Rika approached the blackboard with her and grabbed the contract for hunting a Querepeco. They brought it to the teacher's desk and told them their team. He stamped it and gave it back to them. They exited the classroom and walked down the hall to the front doors where Kodah stood waiting. "Wow, you changed quickly," Rika commented, noticing the large black coat that covered his armor so they couldn't see it. "Why do you insist on keeping your armor and weapon covered?" Macie asked. He shrugged his face as blank as ever. It was impossible to read this guy. And why did he want to keep so many secrets? "Ready?" Macie asked. They nodded in affirmation and started to walk down the street. Macie walked in front while Kodah fell behind a bit. Rika fell into step beside him. "She threw him a few glances, wondering about this secretive boy. After a short awkward silence, she decided to ask some questions. "So…. What do you like to do in your spare time Kodah?" It was lame, but it was a start. "Hunting." Wow, such a simple one word answer. "Really? What do you like to hunt?" "Stuff."

She sighed. It looked like this was going to be a long walk.

* * *

It had taken about three hours to get to their destination. The sun was high in the sky and beat down on them. Macie was sweating like crazy in her hunters armor while Rika was about passed out from dehydration, as her armor was supposed to keep heat in. Kodah wasn't even breaking a sweat under his black coat and the armor underneath. He sighed as the two girls took another break to catch their breath. "I'm going to go look by myself. I'll alert you when I've found it. Oh and here you go." Hu dug into his pouch, pulling out a couple of cool drinks. He tossed one to each of them and walked away, looking for the monster on his own. The two looked at his retreating form until he was around the corner and out of view. "Well isn't he a barrel of fun," Macie commented when she was out of earshot. "He is really rude. I know he's a stone-cold kickass fist-fighter, but can't he at least answer some questions?" The dual-wielder complained. She was referring to the little session of Q & A they had on the way here. Kodah had answered a little less than half of their questions. This frustrated Rika, as she wanted to know more about this hunter. "Well, he must have his reasons," Rika told her. "Maybe something happened in his past." Macie let out a huff. "It would help if he actually _talked_ about his past." Rika just shrugged. Suddenly, they heard a roar that they'd never heard before. Rika recognized it after a second. It was the roar she had heard on the night she had followed Kodah into the forest. It sent shivers down her spine, just thinking about it. After Macie had recovered from the initial sound, she got up and walked in the direction of the roar. Rika chased after her, telling her she was crazy. "We don't know what this thing is!" "Well we can't leave Kodah to fight it alone! He must have run into it while looking for the Peco." Rika reluctantly nodded. She didn't want to leave their teammate behind, but that roar unsettled her. They ran around the corner to find Kodah looking around the area, the big green bird wyvern dancing in front of him. "Hey! What was that?!" Macie shouted to the boy. He whipped around at the sound of her voice. He looked worried. That couldn't be a good sign. "Run!" he shouted back, "Get out of here!" "Why?!" Just then the ground started to tremble beneath their feet. The ground bulged in between them and their teammate. Kodah ran at them, trying to get over to them. But just as he got close, the ground erupted, sending him flying. Rika covered her ears as a loud roar came from the hole. Suddenly, an ugly monster climbed out. It was green and had a long tail, ending in a round stump. It had a long jaw that ended in a round chin covered in curved spikes, and numerous scars covered the face and body. It looked around the area until it spotted the two girls, instantly focusing on them. Rika and Macie were stunned at the sight before them. It eyed them menacingly, and gave out a loud roar, pulling them out of their stupor. Macie shook her head rapidly and drew her ludroth blades. She charged the monster and jumped, letting out a ferocious battle cry and swung the blades down at the monster, ready to cut it to pieces- and the blades bounced off without even leaving a scratch. Macie started to fall back to the ground but the monster whipped its long tail around, slamming it into Rika's friend and sending her flying and slamming into a cliff. Macie didn't move after he hit the ground. Rika backed up in fear, tripping on a small rock and landing on her back. She propped herself up on her arms as she backed away horrified from the monster slowly walking towards her. It soon stood over her, blocking out the sun and hope of getting back alive. She knew she was going to die; there was nothing she could do. It had bested the strongest friend she had with one blow, knocking her out instantly and probably breaking a lot of bones. She got into a crouched position and covered her head, waiting for the end.

But just as the monster was about to strike, something or better yet some_one_ flew through the air, slamming into its side and knocking it over. It let out a surprised roar as it hit the ground, trying to get up. The person who knocked the monster over had moved between her and it. This someone was a hunter, wearing full Rathian armor minus the helmet, and carried what looked like an axe made of azure scales and decorated with reddish-orange horns. Remnants of a black cloak hung off of his armor, blowing in the slight breeze. He looked ready for combat.

It was then that she realized that he didn't belong at the hunting academy. This guy was the real deal, a true and full on hunter.

Kodah stood between Rika and the Deviljho, pissed as hell for letting another one to surprise him. Switching the Bolt Axe into sword form, he gave a quick glance back at Rika to see if she was ok. She looked fine but had a strange look on her face. He frowned and looked back at the monster. "You're kind just seem to LOVE me. Will I ever get a break?" With one final glance, he charged forward.

**This chapter was probably the most difficult to write so far. I wanted to put a lot in, but I didn't know how to execute it. I've spent at least a total of 15 hours sitting in front of this thing wondering how to write it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Please review. Until next time.**


	4. A bad day

**4. A Good But Mostly Bad Day**

**So, it's been a little while. I don't even know how long it's been since I worked on this story, but hopefully not too long. It's hardly felt like a week. Has it been that little time? Well whatever, I hope you enjoy the chapter. The beginning fight is in Kodah third person; the rest is in Rika third.**

_**Kodah**_

Things were not going well for Kodah. He supported himself on his bolt axe as he looked at the Deviljho before him. This fight hadn't fared well for either of them. The wounds on his leg and arm had reopened, paired with the new ones this monster had added. On the other hand, the 'Jho had a large gash on its face, damaging its right eye, and many wounds on its stomach and legs. His legs ached as he shoved himself up, putting the switch axe in sword form and taking an offensive stance. This fight was coming to a close, he could feel it. But the winner was uncertain, as it could go either way.

Kodah glanced over at Rika to see her still kneeling in the same spot and watching the battle. Even from here he could feel her fear. Any unexperienced hunter could; this was one of the most threatening things the guild had to face other than elder dragons. If Macie were conscious, she would feel Rika's fear too on top of her own. Kodah's mind was getting unfocused by the sensation in the air. He needed to finish this _now_ before he became completely unfocused and got himself killed. And fear could drive one insane if in its grip long enough. He winced at the thought. He didn't want that, especially for a classmate.

He lifted his weapon above his head, daring the monster to come closer. The Deviljho seemed to grin evilly as it took a step towards the hunter. With that, Kodah charged forward with blinding speed and jumped, surprising the monster as he brought the blade down hard on its back, knocking it to the ground. Kodah pressed his advantage and started to let the contents of the phial flow into his weapon as he slashed at the monster's stomach. It thrashed around, trying to keep him away as it got up. He barly dodged the things tail as it flew at him, forcing him to relent in his attack. The Deviljho struggled to its feet and let out a lout roar as its muscles grew and it took on a red glow.

'_Ah crap, why now?'_ Kodah thought as the monster went into rage mode. It swung its tail around, forcing Kodah to jump back further. As it turned to face him again it let out a blast of dragon breath, contaminating anything it touched. Kodah brought the blade up to block the powerful breath attack, and charged forward as it righted itself again. He got under its legs and started to hack at them until it got smart and kicked at him forcing him to relent again.

Kodah put distance between them and charged the weapon until it was just below overloading it and raised it above his head again. "Come on you angry pickle, bring it!" He shouted. He dropped his indifferent shield slightly to try and intimidate the monster with the small smile of excitement on his face. As crazy as it sounds, it seemed to work as the monster hesitated in its charge. This human looked like it was _enjoying _the fight, despite his injuries. "Yeah that's right, back away!" Kodah continued to taunt. The 'Jho shook its head slightly and let out another roar, charging forward with no hesitation this time. Kodah did the same, letting out a battle cry and releasing the rest of the phial into the weapon and jumped to eye level with the monster and brought his sword down.

* * *

_**Rika**_

Rika sat there and watched as Kodah fought. She tried to move and help Macie but she was frozen to the spot. Throughout the fight she saw Kodah glance towards them a few times. She wanted to help. God only knew how much she wanted to fight to protect Kodah and Macie, but then she saw that he didn't need protecting and she was too afraid to help anyway. Her breath caught when Kodah almost got hit with the monster's tail.

When it came time for the final charge, she was still frozen in fear and watched helplessly as the hunter charged the monster. When she saw him come out on top, she was amazed. She, Rika, the most popular girl in class and one of the top ten best in her year, had been totally useless and frozen with fear at the sight of an unknown challenge. She felt tears form in her eyes as she thought about it. Kodah chugged down a couple of potions and made his way towards her as if he hadn't just been in a life or death fight. Rika lowered her face so as not to let him see her cry. She felt his shadow come over her as he stood in front of her. She could hear him kneel down in front of her and his gasp when he saw that she was crying.

"Hey," he said. She lowered her head further. "Hey, look at me." She felt him lift her chin to make her look him in the face. Instead of his normal blank look, it was a slightly less blank look of concern. She couldn't take it. She lunged forward and grabbed onto him and started to sob into his chest plate. He froze up upon her sudden movement, unsure of what to do. He was never good in these situations. He just went with what usually seemed to work and slowly lifted his arms, hugging close. Tis seemed to be the right choice as she relaxed slightly.

They sat there like that for a good five minutes before Rika said something. "I-I…" she stammered, "I was s-so afraid. S-so afraid that we were going to d-d-die." She sobbed harder with every word. "I was u-useless. I-I couldn't do anything." She sobbed harder, "You probably think I'm pathetic," she sobbed bitterly. She felt him shaking. Was he crying now? Was he laughing? Yes he was laughing slightly.

"Oh, don't think I'm laughing at you," he chuckled. _'Wait this guy can laugh?' _she thought, shocked. As quick as it came, his little chuckle subsided, replaced by a small comforting smile. "I've seen worse reactions. One guy I hunted with had a nervous breakdown." This brought a smile to Rika's face as her tears started to ebb. "Besides," he said, his face going expressionless again, "I have something I have to do, someone to repay. I'm not dying yet."

Rika looked down again, "Yeah, me too." After another few minutes, Kodah got up to go check on Macie. He got halfway to his feet before he started to chough violently, spitting blood on the ground.

Rika instantly got up and tried to help him, but he waved her off and chugged another one of those green drinks that seemed to close his wounds slightly. She wouldn't be able to do anything anyway, as she was still frightened and coming off of an adrenaline high for her to walk or do anything very steadily. After making sure he was ok they walked over to where Macie lay. Well, Kodah walked and he supported/carried her. They checked her over and Kodah gave a simple conclusion. They needed to haul ass to a hospital. "Concussion and possible brain damage. Internal bleeding, bruised to broken bones," he murmured as Rika looked on, full of worry for her friend.

Suddenly, Kodah let out a loud whistle which was followed by the sound of wheels and a felyn cart coming and stopping in front of them. "Take her to the village hospital as fast as possible," Kodah ordered the cat beings as they put Macie on the cart and took off towards the village. Rika tried to get up on shaky legs until she fell over only to be caught and swept off her feet. She looked around shocked to see Kodah carrying her bridal style. She blushed profusely and muttered, "I-idiot, what are you doing?"

He glanced down at her. "Carrying you back. You obviously can't walk very well at the moment." With that he took off at speeds that seemed almost inhuman, cutting the walk in half.

They had just made it back to the outskirts of the village by time the cart had passed them on the way to the hospital. Rika had adjusted herself comfortably into Kodah's arms for the little run, enjoying the feeling of the wind in her hair and the warmth of his body. She listened to the wind and… the sound of Kodah's ragged breathing as he ran. _'He's definitely not ok,' _she thought. He stopped at the end of the street that led to the academy, catching his breath. "Uh, you can put me down now," she told him, blushing all the while, "I can walk from here." He nodded and set her down on her feet and took out another green drink which he called a potion and chugged it.

They walked towards the academy entrance where three people could be seen. One was Blake and the other two looked like some of the guys that tried to fight Kodah. As they slowly walked up Blake ran out to meet them. Rika didn't expect him to punch Kodah in the stomach, causing him to cough up an alarmingly large glob of blood and sink to his knees.

Rika let out a surprised yelp as Blake continued his assault. "You little shit," the boy growled, "you screwed up _again_. That wasn't a practice hunt. That was the real deal and now someone's in the hospital." He punctuated the last word with a crushing kick to Kodah's gut causing him to cough up more blood. Blake hefted Kodah up by the collar and started to punch him repeatedly in the face. Rika ran forward and grabbed onto Blake's arm, keeping him from punching Kodah again.

She struggled to keep Blake off of the wounded hunter as she tried to reason with him. "Stop!" she shouted, "You're going to kill him!"

"Shut up!" Blake retorted with a growl as he shoved her off and dragged Kodah through the doors of the academy and down the hall. Rika chased after him and his acquaintances down the hall. She stopped dead when she saw him throw Kodah _through_ the door into the classroom. "STOP!" she shouted as she started to cry again. "You're going to kill him."

Shouts of surprise could be heard as Kodah was thrown into the room and people backed away as Blake and his cronies entered, quickly followed by Rika. She stopped and put her hands to her mouth in horror as she surveyed the scene. Blake stood over his bloodied classmate and was currently beating the shit out of him. Rika started to cry harder at the sight. _'No,' _she thought, _'this isn't happening. He didn't survive that just to be killed by Blake while the class just watches.'_ Everyone else just watched on without concern. They thought Kodah had had this coming. They didn't care.

Just as Rika rushed forward to stop the angry boy, a shout came from the hallway. "What the hell are you kids doing in there?" they heard the teacher shout. "You better not be wrecking anythi…" He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him. The floor was covered in blood and several desks were broken, with the two students in the center having a one-sided fight. Blake got one last punch in before the teacher, Mr. Thomas ran towards them. He placed a hand on Blake's shoulder causing him to turn around and slugged him hard in the face. Everyone was in shock. Mr. Thomas never got mad at anyone. Sure he got _annoyed _but never mad. Gut he wasn't just mad, he was PISSED, as seen by the fact that he just slugged a kid and was holding him up by the collar of his armor. "And what the _hell_ do you think you're doing, Mr. Fey?" He growled. I should damn well have you expelled for that. And that's because I'm a teacher. But my heart and head are telling me to _kill_ you for doing that to someone who can't even stand up properly. And he's your classmate for Alatreon's sake."

Blake made a very un-smart choice by deciding to push his luck. "It was probably a jaggi that did that to him," he remarked with a sneer. Mr. Thomas' face darkened slightly.

"Ms. Rika, please take Kodah to the infirmary please."

Rika nodded, whipping her tears and gently lifted Kodah up. She made her way to the door, Supporting Kodah as she hauled him out the door and down the hall. It was slow going as her legs were still slightly shaky from earlier. When she got to the infirmary, the academy healer went to work at once. She pulled out a strange looking horn and started to play a soft melody. Almost immediately, Rika felt better, as did Kodah as his wounds slowly sopped bleeding and his bruises faded. "Wow," Rika exclaimed quietly, "What was that thing?"

The Healer smiled, explaining what the horn did. "It plays a sound which has a healing effect on those who hear it. It's quite useful in the field, much like life crystals." The woman saw the confused look on Rika's face, she elaborated further. As it turns out, their first year teacher had been VERY lazy and neglected higher level monsters and most combinations. She gave the orange eyed girl a quick crash course in healing items. Suddenly Kodah started to chough violently and his wounds started bleeding again.

"Crap," the healer exclaimed. "I need to go get something. Don't touch him, it might just make him worse," she added as she saw Rika move towards Kodah, trying to help. She ran out of the room and came back with a jar of odd liquid.

"What's that?" Rika asked the healer.

"You'll see," was her reply. She tipped the bottle to Kodah's mouth, as he had stopped coughing. The substance seemed to taste bad as Kodah's face puckered slightly as it went down his throat. But what really got Rika's attention was the effect it had. All of Kodah's wounds stopped bleeding and closed rapidly, not even leaving a scar. His quick breathing returned to normal, and he visibly relaxed.

"Wow," Rika exclaimed at the sight before her. "Why didn't you use that in the first place Ma'am?" she inquired.

The healer sighed. "It's called an ancient potion. They are very rare, also VERY expensive. I don't use them unless it's an emergency like that." Rika gazed at the sleeping form before her, examining him closely for any signs that he was still hurt.

"Is the kid awake yet Ms. Risa?" A deep voice behind them startled Rika out of her revere.

"Oh Mr. Thomas," the older woman turned around, "I didn't realize you were there."

Mr. Thomas chuckled slightly. "I still remember when you were the most sensual kid in the class Ms. Risa. Seems you've been slipping with age."

The healer, now known as Ms. Risa, glared at the older man. "I'm only 30, dammit," she barked, a tic mark appearing on her forehead Mr. Thomas let out a haughty laugh at Ms. Risa's expression and it took all of Rika's will power to not giggle along as well. Her glare turned on Rika when she couldn't hold back her laughter anymore.

Their laughter died slowly as they got back to the situation at hand. "Anyway, when he wakes up, I have some news for him. It will get him rather excited, so I need you to keep him calm, Ms. Risa and Ms. Harade." He explained rather seriously.

"You can tell me now sir," Kodah's voice popped up behind them. Rika whipped around at the sound of his voice. She blushed at his almost completely naked torso, as they had to remove the armor to get to the wounds on his chest. Now that she wasn't worried that he was going to die, she had time to admire his lean and defined muscles under the remains of a tattered shirt.

"Oh I see your up," Mr. Thomas replied with a smirk. "What happened to your usual jabs of 'Old man'?" Both Rika and Kodah frowned at this. When were so familiar with each other? Rika glanced between them, wondering what Kodah was thinking.

"You know when," Kodah replied, his voice as blank as ever.

Mr. Thomas frowned. "Yeah, and the news I have for you relates to that." Rika noted that Kodah's eyes shined slightly, as did Mr. Thomas'. This seemed to be a touchy subject for them, if the atmosphere was anything to go by. "Where?" It was more of a demand than a question, as Kodah sat up straight.

"Tomorrow, in the middle of class, someone is going to come by. You can either let them carry your armor and weapon or you can wear them to class." Mr. Thomas stated.

Kodah's face remained expressionless as he stood up and faced the teacher. "Tell him to bring my switch axe. I have everything else." Rika looked between the two in confusion. She had no idea what was going on at the moment. But it seemed Ms. Risa did.

"Oh, no no no. You are not in any shape to do something like that. You need to rest first," the healer ordered. Mr. Thomas stared at the woman completely deadpan. "You just gave him a freaking ancient potion."

Ms. Risa seemed to give in and hung her head. "Fine," she muttered, "but no rough activity until morning, and get some rest," she continued with more authority.

Kodah gave her a nod. "Don't worry, I will." This didn't reassure Rika as a creeping feeling grew in her stomach.

* * *

**The next day**

Rika had a hard time paying attention in class as she wondered about yesterday. _'What's going on?' _That thought had crossed her mind all morning as she kept glancing at Kodah, much to the dislike of the other boys, especially Blake. Macie was back, due to the doctors at the hospital also using an ancient potion on her, but ordered her to refrain from hunting for a week. "This sucks," she whispered to Rika. "And the ass-kicker's fidgeting isn't helping," she added as she glanced at Kodah too.

Macie was right, as all morning Kodah had been discretely tapping his foot and glancing out the window all morning. He was ignoring the stares from all of his classmates, some of them in dislike for him and others out of curiosity about their quiet classmate. _'They're probably thinking what's under that coat.' _She could tell it was true as she heard some of the other girls in class mutter things like 'he's kind of cute' or 'I wonder what's under there'. Hearing these made Rika slightly jealous but she didn't know why.

There was a sudden knock on the door. Everyone turned their attention to find a young man, who looked to be a third year student. He cleared his throat, "Uh, Kodah Otonashi?"_ 'Silence. What a fitting last name,'_ Rika thought. Kodah got up from his seat and looked at Mr. Thomas, who gave him a nod.

As he walked towards the door, Macie called out. "Hey Kodah." He glanced back at her. "I wasn't completely out when you fought that thing yesterday. All I have to say is thank you." Kodah gave her a short nod and turned back towards the door. "And one more thing," Macie smiled slightly, "whatever you're hunting, kick its ass." Rika thought it was her imagination but she swore she saw the corner of Kodah's mouth twitch up into a ghost of a smile. He glanced at Rika who blushed slightly and gave an equally small smile.

Mr. Thomas also stopped him. "Good luck, Kodah. Though I don't think you'll need it." Blake smirked at the teacher's words. "Yeah right, he's probably going to get _his_ ass kicked. He's useless anyway." Both she and Mr. Thomas frowned at him while Macie gave him a death glare. Even the third year at the door was frowning in contempt. Kodah just shrugged and walked out the door, grabbing the covered weapon from the third year as the continued down the hall. Everyone looked out the window as Kodah and the third year walked out towards the street where a wagon pulled by an aptonoth was being driven by a felyn. It waved to the two as they walked up and hopped into the back. They exchanged a few words when the wagon started to move. Kodah glanced over his shoulder back at the window, giving a little two -finger wave to everybody as the wagon went out of sight.

"He'll be fine," Mr. Thomas reassured them. But Rika couldn't dispel the small crepping feeling in her stomach again.

* * *

_**Kodah**_

The boy across from him growled, looking frustrated. "How can you stand the way he talks about you and looks at you?" He exclaimed angrily.

"Probably because he's a dumbass," Kodah replied deadpan.

The felyn driving let out a _mrow_ of amusement. "That guy is a dumbutt to call you useless Kodah, Nyaa" The other hunter cracked up at the antics of the two.

He calmed down after a few seconds and leaned closer to Kodah, his expression serious again. "Are you sure you're ready to do this, man?"

Kodah replied with a nod of his head. He was ready to kill the monster that killed his previous teacher all those years ago. His pale eyes seemed to become even colder than they naturally looked. He had prepared for this. HIs teacher's old Bolt Axe strapped to his back, his Rathian+ armor repaired all of yesterday with some improvements added, such as a few plates here and there with extra padding. He had ten of regular potions and mega potions along with barrel bombs and Whetstones. He had a separate pouch full of paintballs and assorted throwing bombs and throwing knives ranging from sleep to poison affinities along with regular knives and sonic and flash bombs. He had multiple phials for the different types.

He counted through the elemental phials and was just starting on the power phials when everything became quiet except for the low whining of the aptonoth. The felyn murmured a faint "We're here."

Kodah looked around the forested area and saw what looked to be a game trail leading off into the thick foliage. "Be careful," the third year warned him.

"Yeah," the felyn agreed, "Come back to us Kodah." The hunter nodded and hopped off of the wagon.

"Don't worry, Rork, Nitzy. I'll be fine." He assured them and walked off down the trail. "I'll be back before you know it.

He had been walking for two hours, finding obvious signs of the monster being in the area. He was currently following the most recent sign, a day old disemboweled aptonoth with a clear blood trail leading off further towards a clearing. He crouched in the brush at the edge of the clearing to see the blood trail disappeared. He slowly made his way around to the other side to see if the blood trail continued. He was disappointed to find it was gone. With a frustrated and quiet sigh, he made his way into the clearing for more clues. He found long claw marks on the trees from the way he had come. He crouched down to find some on the ground too, obviously very recent.

"It's somewhere around here…" He murmured quietly. He suddenly felt a gust of wind behind him. He quickly turned around and came face to ugly face with his quarry. The Nargacuga loomed threateningly, its eyes glowing red in rage. It had a long scar going from its left ear to right cheek, caused by Kodah's teacher years ago, along with a tear in its wing when it fought Kodah back then too.

It growled at him, its ears pulled back slightly while still cupped towards him. "Hey, ugly," Kodah growled quietly, "Remember me?" It answered with a lunge.

Kodah dodged and pulled out his weapon with lightning speed, still barely managing to block the follow up attack. Its tail bashed against the bolt axe, the horns attached to the weapon grinding against it. It followed up again, slashing at Kodah with its wing, striking again with the other wing. _'What the hell?,' _he thought in surprise, _'It's moving like a Barioth.' _The narga jumped back, unleashing a barrage of tail spikes at him. _'Scratch that. It's moving in a mixture of Barioth and regular Narga moves .And it's a heck of a lot faster. As expected, it's not normal.' _Kodah charged forward and dodged under a tail swing, causing it to get stuck. He pressed his advantage as he switched to sword mode and viciously swung down on its tail. It left a clean cut as it stopped halfway to the bone. It pulled its tail free just as he backed up but he still took a hard hit to his stomach, sending him flying.

Kodah coughed and gasped as the air left his lungs. He rolled over in time to see a spiked tail land right where he had been a second ago. The narga swung its claws and wing at him and he took another hit, this time in his arm, leaving a large gash. He jumped back and put the weapon back in axe mode, letting the elemental booster disperse throughout the weapon. It had been designed to hold unused boosters to help make the next attack even more powerful; a collaborated effort between Kodah and his teacher, and by God it was effective.

The nargacuga swung its tail again, resulting in its tail stuck in the ground again as Kodah dodged out of the way. He proved the design to work as he switched to sword mode again, it charging quicker and more powerfully than last time. He swung at the monster's left wing as it struggled to get its tail out.

'_NO. I will not allow you to hurt him!'_

Kodah recoiled at the loud voice shaking in his head. He watched as the nargacuga stopped struggling for a few seconds until it seemed to recover and pull its tail out. It let out a loud roar as it sent out another barrage of spikes. The roar did not affect the hunter due to earplugs. While Kodah blocked the spikes, the monster had managed to speedily run up to him and let loose with a huge tail swing, spikes extended.

'_RUN BOY!' _the voice shouted in his head again. _'I cannot control myself. You will lose this fight RUN!' _

The tail stopped mere inches from hitting Kodah in the chest, who had frozen upon realizing where the voice was coming from. _'I-its talking to me. The damn narga is talking to me in my head. Yep I'm crazy.'_

The monster them seemed to shake off its previous thoughts with a struggle and swung its tail again. It was so close Kodah had no time to dodge, so he opted for the last thing he could do in the split second. He swung the mighty axe down into the Nargacuga's head as the spiked tail slammed into him.

Kodah sat leaned up against a rock in the clearing, mulling over what he had just found out.

'_Boy… are you ok?' _The narga asked, now finally in control of itself for the first time in years. As it turns out, it was being controlled by a hunter's soul. It could move between the human body and a barioth, until the monster had been killed, severing the connection. He had gone searching for another monster to control, and found Shikage, or _death's shadow, _as many called him. Many simply called him shi, or _death_. The hunter took control of shi and due to the rampage induced by first contact, had killed Kodah's teacher and a girl's parents.

'_Yeah, I'm fine,'_ he coughed up some blood, _'Never been better. It is just a lot to take in.'_ Apparently, The Hunter had been in control the whole fight, up until they had struck fatal blows upon each other, returning to his own body and relinquishing control. _'I'm going to die, aren't I, Shi?' _

The Narga seemed to think for a moment. _'Not if I can help it. I am dying along with you. I can use the last of my life to save yours. Stick out your arm.'_ Kodah did as he was told and stuck out his left arm. Shi poised his mouth around the arm, barely holding it in his teeth, not breaking the skin. _'This may have… side effects. Including my soul merging with yours. Do you want that?'_

Kodah thought for only a second before nodding_. _"It'll save me and it might save you too. I want that."

'_You are an honorable hunter, and it was nice knowing you if only for a little while.'_

'_Same here, Shikage, Death's shadow.' _And with one final nod, he felt the narga's teeth bite down on his arm. He grunted in pain from the bite, but the pain after that made him shout in pain. The last thing He remembered when he blacked out was feeling better and worse than he ever had in his life, and his companions running towards him, shouting to get him on the cart.

**Well, now the title comes into play. This chapter was a fun one to write, though it did take a while. No excuses except for my writers' mood being ruined on a daily basis by school. That's a weak excuse at best. Please forgive me, my laziness and bad writers' mood. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the next one will hopefully not take as long. And the summers' coming up so booyah, only 3 Mondays left. As always, I ask you to review and help me improve, as it is appreciated. Until next time.**


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